Year 12 Media Production and Analysis: Warwick Thornton

Introduction

USING THIS GUIDE

This guide provides you with information and resources on Australian auteur Warwick Thornton. It is meant to enrich and build upon the work you complete in class and serve as a revision tool. Your teacher may direct you to specific pages on this guide but you can always use it for your own further reading and research.

Make sure you reference any resources or information you use; there is information on what should be referenced, and how, on the Bibliography page.

INTRODUCING WARWICK THORNTON

Warwick Thornton is a critically acclaimed and award-winning Australian auteur. His first feature Samson and Delilah won the highly prestigious Cannes Camera D'Or in 2009 and his most recent film Sweet Country has also received many accolades. While he now most known for his work as a director, Thornton is also an accomplished cinematographer.

From the ACMIwebsite:

"A celebrated cinematographer, filmmaker and artist, Warwick Thornton is a Kaytej man who grew up in Alice Springs where he still lives. During his teens, Thornton worked as a DJ at the public radio station run by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA). This experience inspired his celebrated short film Green Bush (2005).

When CAAMA expanded to include filmmaking, Thornton was given the opportunity to participate in a media traineeship. He subsequently studied cinematography at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Thornton received international acclaim for his first feature film Samson & Delilah (2009), which he wrote, directed and shot. Samson & Delilah has won a number of awards including the Camera d’Or for best first feature film at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

The short films Thornton made prior to Samson and Delilah are similarly driven by Thornton’s distinctive vision and perspective and offer a unique insight into the complexity of Indigenous experience. Thornton’s films are personal; they reflect his deep connection to Aboriginal culture and his sense of responsibility as a filmmaker to instigate change."